Tin little Blackouts Interview is up 1/27/2010

http://www.myspace.com/tinylittleblackouts

1. Tell us how Tiny little blackouts came to be?

C: I asked Anthony (Koutsos-drums) to come down to play with me, and later Michael (Papenburg-lead guitar). The three of us used to play in the Embers together before we had a terrible break-up. Michael brought in Gregory Merriman to play bass, which has worked out really well. Back in the Embers I played banjo because I was too chicken to try to play guitar.

M: I heard about you from my guitar tech who put me in touch with Paul. While he & I didn't hit it off, our mutual love of the Cocteau Twins brought us together. Greg & I played in a handful of bands over the years including Lilyvolt and Carrots & Peas. I've always loved playing with him and he's one of the funniest people that I know.

2. If looks like Robot 123 Records is your own label just for the band is that correct?

C: Yes, just invented it.

3. The Sounds of the band to me is a mix of Curve, The Gathering and Low. Are you fan of those bands the female vocals are very sultry to say the least...

C: I like Low very much, but I am not too familiar with Curve or The Gathering. I will check those out though.

M: I used to like Curve but was mostly a fan of their bass player (who was a very intense player). I haven't listened to the other bands much.

4. Is there a them behind " Idea of Alice " or just a strong collection of songs?

C: Just the usual themes I guess: sadness, loss, alienation, depression, metaphysics, anger and loneliness, among other things. Neglect is one of my favorites.

5. Does Tiny little blackouts perform live much?

C: We do some shows, but only according to demand. If there were insane demand, we would play out all the time. Soon, hopefully.

6. I really think the band would fit on a label like Kranky, Matador, Neurot, 1/4 Stick or even a label like Merge. have you shopped material to other labels or just like the DIY side?

C: We are not really trying to actively shop for a label. If we end up on a label then that's ok. Not against a label and again, thanks for the suggestions on those. 4AD was my favorite a long time ago, so Bella Union might also be a good option. But I'm also interested in running a label as a business, if I can figure out what connections are really needed. It seems like promotion is a must.

7. San Fran as a great musical history for last 50 yrs or so. Are there any stand out bands there that people don't know you would like to tell us about?

C: My friend Rachel Wonder writes good songs. But we are pretty busy and don't spend too much time checking out other bands, unless we play with them.

8. " Idea of Alice" was the recorded in layers or more a live band as it sounds very fragile and delicate like it was recorded more live as a band with vocal overdubs?

C: We recorded a lot of it live, in this garage called the Catacombs. Then overdubs. We had a really good engineer who produced with us. He had a lot of ideas and tons of experience- Damien Rasmussen.

9. The guitar sound will sweet and bluesy it still has that fuzzed out tone. Who or what has influenced the sound ?

C: I will have to let Michael answer that, as he is the main guitarist. For me I was heavily into Cocteau Twins, and I also like the Punk and Goth aesthetics. That being said, I don't consider myself to be a highly skilled guitar player. That's why I like fuzz. It's forgiving.

M: I've listened to many guitarists but have ultimately tried to develop my own style. Robin Guthrie from the Cocteau Twins was an early influence. I also really like Daniel Ash from Bauhaus, David Gilmour, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith, Daniel Lanois, Buddy Miller, Mick Ronson, Marc Ribot, PJ Harvey, Nels Cline, and lots of others. I'm a very melodic player who loves mathematical parts that fit together nicely but I'm also really into very abstract, noisy solos that are more about sound and texture. Feedback is a close and personal friend of mine.

10. Are Tiny little blackouts fans of the digital age or do you miss the more print and fm radio days for band???

C: Digital is crazy how everything happens so fast! It makes you impatient too, I think. You expect results right away, and that doesn't necessarily happen. FM Radio has always seemed impentrable to me, while college radio still seems like a good venue today.

11. If you could collab with just one artist who would it be any way?

C: Robert Smith! Or maybe somebody like Cheb Khaled or L. Shankar. But it would depend on their personality once I met them.

12. Where do you see the band going for future releases is there a darker more aggressive side to the band or will it just be extension to what we have with " idea of alice"?

C: Hey, you have a lot of good ideas. I think getting a little heavier might be nice. Also, faster! I don't know about darker. I think a lot of my songs are really about trying to resolve, understand or escape darkness.

13. You seem to focus on just a myspace page for the band is the best way to promote bands online these days??

C: It may seem stupid but sometimes I feel like I am being productive when I am adding friends. I think being on websites that other people do, like yours, is more important than either myspace or our personal website at this point.

14. Any closing thoughts place here.

None really. Thanks so much for taking an interest in us!